We would be if the PL hadn’t been corrupted by financial doping.
That’s my problem as well… I’m not into buying players for the sake of buying but the midfield situation feels a bit like the defence situation of 2020/21. It’s like we’re pushing our luck to the limit, which then tragicomically backfires on us and costs us the league title.
There’s another thing I don’t quite get: why do people constantly refer to Carvalho as a midfielder? This is a genuine question as I don’t recall him playing that role in the preseason or for Fulham. All I know is that James Pearce said that they might view him as midfielder in the long term.
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Mainly because Klopp has said he could be anything! We were crying out for a player like Thiago (82% win rate with him playing btw), now the problem is the system we’ve created for Thiago has no back up player… Someone like Carvalho could be moulded into that type of midfielder 100%. Elliot was a wide forward and has been moved back, so that’s another good example of why Carvalho could be listed as a midfielder.
I don’t think it’s anything like the 2020/21 defence.
We went into that season with three defenders for two positions.
We are going into this season with somewhere between 8-10 midfielders (depending how you view it) for three positions. And we have the option to play two if it came down to it. No-one is out for the season, the longest we expect is Thiago for six weeks.
This isn’t a crisis. This is a couple of early season niggles.
Put it this way, with Konate out for a while and reliant on Van Dijk, Gomez and Matip to form a pair in every game, I’m more worried about the defence than I am the midfield.
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So Tchouameni was the only central midfielder that could improve us and also isn’t a dickhead? Every other centre mid that has moved this summer is either no better than Ox or Milner or is a complete arsehole to the point we wouldn’t entertain them.
Pogba, Bisouma, Rabiot if he goes don’t pass the dickhead test, fine. But Fabio Viera, Vitinha, Boubacar Kamara, De Ketelaere, Palhinha, Gravenberch, Renarto Sanches all fail the ability and dickhead test do they? That’s not to mention the likes of Tielemans or Sangare who have been linked and not moved. Not one of them improves us.
We’re now saying we’ve got 10 first team central midfield options? You know you’re not allowed to Jay Spearing don’t you?
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Why would those things be correlated?
It would depend on the player in question. A Nunes or Barella type player now versus a shot at someone next year and risk getting no one because apparently we only go after one player and walk away if we can’t get them? Take the player every time. If the player was Scott McTominay then probably not.
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Thank you. He isn’t a midfielder in the way we play midfield. He might get some minutes as a 10 when we chase a game or change the shape to have more attacking presence up top but if he’s starting as one of our three it’s going to mean things have gone badly wrong.
He was talked of as being a wide forward when he arrived and even the official site lists him as an attacker.
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thanks for your contribution.
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It’s starting to feel like you’re just looking for an argument?
I don’t know and neither do you.
What I do know is that these lads know what they are doing, and at this point we should really all have learned to trust them.
You’ve listed a few players there. You’ve assumed that we could have had any of them, and they didn’t prefer to move to a club where they would be more likely to play, but whatever. Our club passed on them. You know more about football then them, do you? You’ve done the kind of deep dive into character and personality to know they would fit in? You have a full understanding of the wider tactical set to know if they would work?
They might be good footballers, but at this level it takes more than that. For fucks sake, this isn’t FIFA.
No. I said 8-10 depending on how you consider our options.
Thiago, Fabinho, Hendo, Keita, Jones, Elliot, Milner and Ox is eight. Carvalho is a possible ninth. Bajetic could be considered a tenth, as he really impressed in pre-season.
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I think that would be an oversimplification.
Tchouaméni was a player who ticked all the boxes and that initial fee was sustainable as well. More importantly, it was very early in the window and we would have had the opportunity to integrate him into the squad and phase off a player to make room in the squad and wage bill.
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Not talking about the forums only but it feels like some fans were ‘hoping’ for some injuries so that we are forced to buy.
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As long as we have two or three players out of Fabinho, Thiago, Hendo and Keita available we should be ok.
This is exactly right.
We’re have a reputation as meticulous planners, and there is some of that. But we’re also very opportunistic as well. Tchoumeni falls into that bracket. As does Diaz and Nunez. Probably Thiago as well. As in They are fucking brilliant and fit us perfectly. Let’s get them in and worry about the rest later.
As I write, there are a couple of links floating round to central midfielders, with Nunes the most credible.
I’ll say again, it won’t be long until Elliot is one of the first names on the team sheet.
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I’m not looking for an argument, this is a forum for debate is it not?
I just don’t understand how we go from Tchouameni to no one. You have blind faith in why that’s happened, I don’t. These people have a great track record but they aren’t infallible and beyond questioning.
No one said it was and nor is anyone acting as such. We have a great scouting and recruitment team. It’s not the realms of some kid on his Xbox to think they might be able to identify more than just Tchouameni and Bellingham as options.
So 8 then. The same number we had when we were pursuing Tchouameni. Just now at least three of them aren’t going to be seen for a month or more. If we rate the recruitment so highly this surely indicates the squad could accommodate one more no?
And I’m not sure why people continue to just count bodies when that isn’t the concern here. There’s context that is lost just by pointing out how many we have and not acknowledging we’re rarely ever picking from anything like a full compliment and are constantly forced into changes and getting people back to match fitness.
This is strawman, we aren’t going from Tchouameni to no one. We are going from Tchouameni to Bellingham, who Dortmund are refusing to sell this summer.
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Which midfielder is actually ‚available’ + can come in without a preseason and help straightaway?
I‘m sure it would work on FIFA - but in real life 
coming from you, who vehemently refused to answer my yes/no question on this Bellingham question not more than a few hours ago. Just drips with narcissism. wow. WOW.
*maybe a possible shot at Bellingham because we’ve agreed nothing and there are a dozen reasons he doesn’t move here next summer.
Are you ok Semmy? You don’t seem to be ok… You seem… on tilt? I didn’t refuse anything, especially not “vehemently” fuck me… I expanded on your basic question with my opinon… On a forum…
You seem to struggle with truth and facts, I remember a similar line of strange responses when I pointed out your error around our fans being tear gased and treated like shit in Paris.
I’ll add you to ignore so I don’t need to see whatever issues you are having targetted at me thanks, stay well.